The Center for Shelter Dogs offers this helpful information about house training adopted shelter animals Housetraining Made Easy(PDF)

Dogs that have been learned to soil their living areas can be especially challenging to housetrain. This is particularly common with dogs that have come from puppy mills. Although the basics are the same as with any dog, the ASPCA give some excellent tips for meeting the specific challenges of housetraining a puppy mill dog: House Training Your Puppy Mill Dog

And for a good video reminder of all the basics:

Crate Training

CRATE TRAINING

The single best way to eliminate housetraining accidents, destructive chewing, and inappropriate behavior toward visitors is to teach your dog to love her crate, and then to use occasional crating to prevent problem behaviors.

The San Francisco SPCA provides a nice, concise handout to remind you of the steps and progression for crate training:Crate Training Your Adult Dog

Open Paw has a handout including nice video examples of both crate training and how to create a longer term confinement area for puppies: Pet Basics: Confinement

In some cases it may be helpful also to teach your dog to be relaxed on an inside tether or “tie down”. We recommend that tie downs be used only under direct supervision, and that you use a crate or other confinement area when you cannot be directly supervising your dog. We also recommend attaching a tie down to a body harness rather than even a flat collar to reduce any chance of injury. NEVER use a tie down with any kind of correction collar (choke chain, pinch or prong collar) or head collar. There is a link to a handout on Tie Down Basics at the bottom of the Badrap Blog text: In Praise of Tie-Downs

This video is on the basic steps of training your dog to go in his crate:

Coming When Called

NOT COMING WHEN CALLED

Does your dog not come when called? This is not only very frustrating, it can also be a major safety issue for your dog. Fortunately, all dogs can learn to come when called through a combination of management and positive reinforcement.

The San Francisco SPCA outlines the basic rules and several fun exercises to teach your dog to come when called: Recall Commands(PDF)

BRINGING HOME BABY

If you have a new baby in the house and your dog has never been around babies you might be concerned, but many dogs can acclimate to infants. Of course, if you are able to do some preparation with your dog before the baby arrives, you will have even more likelihood of success.

The San Francisco SPCA outlines training suggestions for the stages of pregnancy and baby’s arrival: Dog, will Baby Make Four (PDF)

North Carolina trainer Jennifer Shryock developed a comprehensive program to increase the success of dogs in homes with children: familypaws.com

Basic Behavior

Jumping

JUMPING UP ON PEOPLE

Does your dog jump up on you or on visitors to your house? Jumping up to greet is a normal behavior that responds well to consistent training, especially if you focus on teaching your dog what you would like her to do instead of jumping up.

For straightforward steps to teach your dog not to jump up in a variety of situations, see the San Francisco SPCA’s handout: Dog Behavior: Jumping (PDF)

The Center for Shelter Dogs offers this perspective on dealing with high energy dogs who jump: Highly Exuberant Dogs (PDF)

This video shows the training in action. The dog in this video is a puppy, but the principles are the same for dogs of any age!

Pulling Leash

PULLING ON LEASH

Many behavior problems can result from dogs being bored and under-exercised. Walking your dog is good for both of you! Advances in humane walking equipment and some basic tips and techniques can make leash walks possible for almost every dog.

The ASPCA provides a great overview of the different types of equipment available, pros and cons of each, as well as training tips for teaching your dog to walk nicely on leash: Walking Equipment for Your Dog

CHEWING

Chewing is normal behavior for all dogs, but you can teach your dog what to chew and what not to chew. Chewing is also a stress reliever for dogs, so sometimes excessive chewing can indicate a more severe underlying problem.

The ASPCA gives excellent tips for preventing destructive chewing as well as some signs to look out for that might indicate the chewing is a symptom of some other issue for your dog: Destructive Chewing

Another good article is at Your Dog’s Friend, which also gives links to trainer-tested and approved chew toys that can help your dog build the habit of acceptable chewing instead of destructive chewing: Oh, dear. He’s done it again

Dog Star Daily provides great help for destructive chewing and many other dog behavior issues. You do have to create an account to access the information, but it’s free and easy to do. Dog Star Daily Training: Destructive Chewing

Emily Larlham (Kikopup) has an excellent series of videos that demonstrate training your dog not to bark in a variety of situations:

Digging

DIGGING

Digging is another normal dog behavior that may have several different motivations. Effective training requires correctly assessing the reason behind your dog’s digging.

The San Diego Humane Society provides a great summary of the different motivations for digging and training recommendations for each: How to Solve the Digging Problem(PDF)

Sometimes the best solution for digging is just to give your dog a place where it’s allowed and teach her only to dig there. The ASPCA gives directions for creating a digging pit for your dog: How to Create a Digging Pit for Your Dog

Anxiety (Fear of…)

People

FEARFUL OF PEOPLE

Dogs that are afraid of people can have trouble doing many things, since people are always around. Fear or people can also lead to aggression if your dog feels like he is trapped and doesn’t have any option to get away from the person who is scaring him. Managing your dog’s encounters to prevent this as well as teaching her to be more comfortable can significantly improve both of your quality of life.

Recognizing the body language of fear in dogs is an essential first step. Study this Free Poster from Dr. Sophia Yin: Body Language of Fear in Dogs

The Center for Shelter Dogs has good tips for introducing your fearful dog to new people: Fear of People (PDF)

The San Francisco SPCA offers this good short handout with tips for training and helping your fearful dog: Fearful Behavior (PDF)

The ASPCA gives more detailed instructions for training exercises: Fear of People

Extensive resources for helping your fearful dog can be found at: fearfuldogs.com

FEARFUL OF NEW ENVIRONMENTS

Some dogs have more generalized fear of anything that is new. These dogs are often afraid of new people too, but there are some additional tips that will help if your dog is afraid of new places or experiences.

The ASPCA has an excellent article that includes different training exercises for dogs with mild, moderate, or severe separation anxiety: Neophobia (Fear of New Things)

Recognizing the body language of fear in dogs is an essential first step. Study this Free Poster from Dr. Sophia Yin: Body Language of Fear in Dogs

Video demonstrations of exercises to reduce fear and increase confidence:

Separation

ANXIOUS WHEN LEFT ALONE

Dogs are social animals, so many dogs experience some level of anxiety when they are left alone. This can range from mild distress to true separation anxiety. This can be a very frustrating problem to deal with, but consistent, systematic training can make a significant improvement for many dogs.

The ASPCA has an excellent article that includes different training exercises for dogs with mild, moderate, or severe separation anxiety: Separation Anxiety

Your Dog’s Friend gives another version of the exercises for mild to moderate separation anxiety: Separation Anxiety

Video demonstration of teaching a puppy to be comfortable being left alone, which is similar to the process for helping an adult dog who is anxious about being left:

Being Touched

ANXIOUS WHEN TOUCHED OR HANDLED

If your dog is nervous or aggressive in response to particular touching or handling, simply forcing him to accept the handling is likely to make the problem worse. Helping your dog feel better about being handled will improve your safety and can even improve your dog’s health since it will be easier for you to perform routine grooming and health checks.

Kikopup video of several exercises for dogs that are not comfortable being touched or handled:

Aggression (Towards…)

Other Dogs On-Leash

AGGRESSION TOWARDS OTHER DOGS ON-LEASH

Dogs acting aggressively on leash toward other dogs is a very common problem. Although sometimes dogs are frankly aggressive toward other dogs on and off leash, it is not unusual for dogs who get along with other dogs off leash to have on leash aggression. Ineffective punishment frequently makes this problem much worse, so it is very important to teach your dog to feel more comfortable about seeing dogs on leash.

A good short article from Kathy Sdao that describes the basic procedure for reducing leash aggression: Leash Aggression in Dogs

This website provides a great condensed, comprehensive plan for teaching your dog to be comfortable seeing other dogs on leash: careforreactivedogs.com

Continuation of the previous video with exercises to prevent your dog barking at other dogs behind fences:

Other Dogs Off-Leash

AGGRESSION TOWARDS OTHER DOGS OFF-LEASH

Inside the Home

If you have multiple dogs and aggression is occurring between any of them, it’s essential to prevent both injuries and further deterioration of their relationship by managing the environment so fights cannot occur. In most cases dogs can in time learn to coexist through a combination of management and training.

The Whole Dog Journal provides and excellent, comprehensive article including several different strategies for resolving aggression among dogs in your home: Multi-Dog Household Aggression

The ASPCA provides good tips on how to prevent normal dog play from tipping over into fighting. This article also includes good advice for how to safely break up a dog fight: Breaking Up a Dogfight

BadRap has great practical advice on managing for safety in any multi-dog home: Multi Dog Homes

Outside the Home

Even social dogs will not necessarily get along with every other dog they meet. Learning to read your dog’s body language and respecting his limits will help keep both your dog and others safe. If your dog is frankly aggressive off-leash toward dogs outside of your home, this problem can be resolved by keeping your dog on leash whenever off your property.

Dog Star Daily provides a good summary of how to assess the severity of your dog’s aggression. You do have to create an account to access the information, but it’s free and easy to do: Training/Fighting

The San Francisco SPCA gives good advice on how to determine whether your dog is a good candidate for dog park play: Successful Dogpark Outings

Cats and Other Pets

AGGRESSIVE TO CATS AND OTHER PETS IN THE HOME

If your dog is aggressive to cats or other pets in the home, immediate management is necessary to prevent threats or injury. In many cases dogs can learn to live safely with smaller animals if we teach them to feel comfortable when the other pets are around and also teach what we would like them to do.

The ASPCA article on introducing your dog to a new cat can also be used to reintroduce your dog to a cat (or other small animal) if they are having problems: Introducing Your Dog to a New Cat

The APSCA also has an article with specific recommendations if your dog is chasing your cat: Dogs Chasing Cats

AGGRESSIVE TOWARD PEOPLE

If your dog is aggressive to other people, managing his environment and activities is essential. Then you can also work on helping him feel more comfortable around other people, and also teach him what behaviors you would like him to do in those situations.

AGGRESSIVE TOWARDS CHILDREN

If your dog is aggressive specifically toward children, please also see the section on aggression toward people in general. However, there are some excellent resources specifically for information on improving your dog’s relationship with children and keeping kids safe with your dog.

AGGRESSIVE WHEN IN POSSESSION OF AN ITEM OR LOCATION

Toward people

Some dogs are aggressive toward people when they are in possession of food, an item, or even a favorite location. This is often a very discrete problem for dogs that otherwise are very social toward people. It also often responds well to both management and training.

Toward other dogs

Guarding their food or toys from other dogs is actually very normal dog behavior and can often be handled by management alone (physically separating the dogs at feeding time, etc.) However, if one of your dogs is disproportionately possessive of her stuff, or if another dog does not respect her signals, you can do some additional training to improve the situation.

TEACHING A DOG TO BE COMFORTABLE WEARING A MUZZLE

If your dog has had injury-causing fights with other dogs, or has show aggressiveness to children or other animals either in your home or outside of your home, a highly recommended safety precaution is to teach her to be comfortable wearing a muzzle. The purpose of muzzle training is not so that you can just let your dog be in situations that cause her stress and anxiety without being able to defend herself, rather it is so that you have a safety net that will prevent injury to people or dogs if there is an accidental lapse in management or training.

Welcome to FHS

Foothills Humane Society (FHS) is a non-profit, 501c3 No-Kill, open-admission, adoption-guarantee animal welfare organization serving the rural foothills of Polk County, North Carolina and Landrum, Campobello and Gowensville in the northern Greenville and Spartanburg counties of South Carolina. Learn more